Thiksey Gompa

One of the oldest Gompas of Ladakh, the cold desert of India, Thiksey Gompa was constructed 600 year ago and provides shelter to 100 monks belongs to Yellow-Hat Sect of Buddhism. It is made up of 12 levels ascending hillside with 10 temples and chapels.

At the main courtyard, a new temple contains the 15 meter high statue of Lord Buddha which was built around 1970 to mark the visit of the Dalai Lama to Thiksey. The statue is considered as the largest one and took four year for its completation. It is prepared by clay and covered with gold paint and boasts of both the Khandsur and the Thandsur- volumes of Buddhist canonical texts. The statue symbolizes the picture of Maitreya (‘compassion’ in Sanskrit) the Buddha of the Future.

Just above the temple, a school is running for local boys where they get religious teachings by lamas of the monastery. As we return to the main courtyard, we find new temple which contains murals of the two Tibetan Calendar with ‘Wheel of Life’. The central part of the wheel portrays the representations of a snake, bird, and pig, symbolizing greed, desire and ignorance respectively. The wheel is caught by Yama, the god of Death.

The central prayer room also contains several religious books which are handwritten or hand printed. Beside the Dukhnag, the small room boasts of image of Sakyamuni (the historical Buddha) with two smaller Bodhisattva. On the left side of the Buddha there is 11-headed Avalokitesrva which is regarded as incarnation of Hindu lord Shiva.

Around the summit, you can explore the beauty of small temple devoted to Maitreya, the future Buddha. The wall of the temple contains a collection of murals depicting lamas and thankas. The Verandah and the main prayer hall are designed in a Tibetan style, include modern paintings and eighty four Tantric Masters. On the roof of the monastery, there is Thiksey’s library which contains a series of religious books including volume of the Kandsur and Tandsur.